Michael Gianaris's posts related to Going Green

Sunnyside Post wrote about Senator Gianaris' continued work to get more trees planted in Sunnyside and Woodside. It is expected that hundreds of trees will be planted in the area within the next two years, thanks to the help of local leaders.

Hundreds of trees will be planted in Sunnyside and Woodside within the next two years, according to the neighborhood’s political leaders.

State Sen. Mike Gianaris, who wrote a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg in April insisting that more trees be planted on the south side of Queens Blvd, said that the first wave of tree planting is likely to begin in October.

City Hall News hosted an energy panel to discuss New York State's energy future. Senator Gianaris was invited to participate in the panel since his Senate district is home to more than 60% of New York City's power generating plants.

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Moving forward will require a range of new initiatives, panelists said – including conservation measures such as retrofitting buildings to be more efficient, and installing smart meters to let electric customers monitor and control their power use more closely.

“We have to balance all of these resources,” said Sergej Mahnovski, senior advisor and director of the Office of Energy Policy and Infrastructure at the city Department of Environmental Protection. “There is no magic bullet, so we have to be careful.”

The Capitol transcribed parts of the energy panel Senator Gianaris participated in earlier this month.

All the pieces are in place to develop a sustainable and efficient energy supply in New York State except one: leadership.

That was the consensus from a panel of experts, advocates and government officials who said New York has the capacity to grow its wind, solar and natural-gas energy production, while also conserving more power and improving the electric grid—as long as there’s a plan for doing so.

Queens Times Ledger wrote about the Luyster Creek Energy Project planned by USPowergen. Senator Gianaris cannot support power generation unless we are guaranteed an overall emissions reduction.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) withdrew his support for a new green power plant project after learning that despite an upgrade meant to reduce emissions, the company will be allowed to create pollutants at a higher rate than it had been allowed previously.

“My issue has always been that I will not support new power generation unless we’re guaranteed an overall emissions reduction,” Gianaris said.

Queens Courier wrote about the unveiling of the 'Learning Garden' at P.S. 84:

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Senator Michael Gianaris, who attended P.S. 84 as a child, secured funding for the original garden, which was renovated to create the modernized “Learning Garden.”

“This garden is an excellent tool for students to learn in a more hands-on capacity and enhances their understanding of the environment,” said Gianaris, who attended the unveiling. “It is a great example of community members, advocacy groups and government pulling together to make productive use of this space. We are always in need of more avenues to teach children about the environment, how it works and how we can benefit from it.”

The Queens Gazette wrote about the installment of new benches along Steinway Street, for which Senator Gianaris attended the ribboncutting event and thanked the Steinway Astoria Partnership for continuing to improve the experiences of shoppers and visitors through these eco-friendly additions.

Members of the Steinway Astoria Partnership, elected officials and local community leaders attended a ribboncutting celebrating the new benches now lining Steinway Street.

The Queens Gazette wrote on the October Community Board 1 meeting, where questions were raised on how the state deficit will be handled this year. Senator Gianaris, as the keynote speaker, spoke about a range of topics including ways in which we can boost our economy and maintain community members' rights to services they need.

New York state faces a projected budget deficit of $2.4 billion next year and after closing a gap of $10 billion, largely through cuts to health care and education, the question raised at the October meeting of Community Board 1 was how the state will handle the deficit this year.

The Capitol reported on the support for repowering power plants in order to reduce pollution, and also of the financial issue that still remains at hand. Senator Gianaris calls for an aggressive approach for this initiative in order to reduce more megawattage and also reduce pollution dramatically.

NRG Energy is ready to tear down its power plant in Astoria and build a new one that’s cleaner, more efficient and more productive.

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Many of the plant’s neighbors back the idea, the state’s Public Service Commission has given the go-ahead, and now Gov. Andrew Cuomo is citing repowering projects like NRG’s as a source of replacement energy if he succeeds in shutting down the nuclear reactors at Indian Point.